The offer put forward by the Joint Negotiating Council for the Boards will raise the status of term-time staff by giving them the option of transferring to 52-week contracts and full year-round pay - in effect a pay increase of up to 2,500 - from 1 April. They will also have full entitlement to sick pay and full maternity pay, as well as between six and 14 additional days of annual leave based on their length of service, and will have an increased pension entitlement. The Council has also agreed to end all term-time working in education by reviewing all temporary posts with a view to making them permanent.
The 5,000 classroom assistants, secretaries and technicians affected have been represented by three trade unions, NIPSA, Unison and the GMB. A meeting of term-time staff in Ballynahinch to discuss the latest offer overwhelmingly carried a motion agreeing to accept it.
NIPSA spokesman Brian Booth said, 'Every side was represented at the meeting in Ballynahinch and of the 259 people present, 256 accepted and passed the motion. Our own people are all very happy with it.'
The motion said in part, 'This meeting believes that the current offer from management is a victory for term-time workers and NIPSA. Although the offer is not full equality, it is the best outcome at this stage.'
Janet Murdock, a term-time worker who was recently elected to the NIPSA general council, described the Joint Negotiating Council's offer as 'an enormous step forward'. She added, 'We have had to fight every inch of the way for equality and justice, but this outcome makes it worth it.'
The latest offer by the Education and Library Boards had followed threats of strike action by the term-time staff. The Socialist Party in Belfast welcomed the pay deal and praised the term-time workers for fighting 'a model campaign'.
Party spokesman Stephen Boyd said, 'They have had to take on the education boards, the Department of Education, (education minister) Martin McGuinness and even some of their trade union leaders.
'This victory may result in a similar campaign in Britain. There you have 60,000 term-time workers on similar conditions of employment and pay to what the term-time staff were getting here up to now.'
